Blog Roll

Monday, April 03, 2006

Selling me something

Whenever I hear a business telling me that what they do is for MY benefit, it makes me see red. Any and every business does what they do for one main reason - to make money. Of course there can be spin-off benefits for me - in fact, why would I purchase what they are selling if I didn’t benefit from it? But even if you are in the service business, don’t tell me your prime objective is to make ME happy. It isn’t.

Even people who make a living doing something they love, might not do it if they didn’t make money. What about people who volunteer? They may even be trying to sell me something (think religion) but they are getting something out of whatever they are doing. The best situation is when we both benefit from the transaction and in ways that are more than just financial. If I make something and sell it to you, I get the pleasure of having made it as well as the money and you get the pleasure of having it and well as the use of it.

So car sales companies and funeral homes and mattress makers - don’t tell me that you are selling me this thing out of the goodness of your heart. If that were true, you’d give it away. Don’t tell me this thing you are trying to sell me is good for me. I know it is, otherwise I wouldn’t buy it. The only thing you should do is tell me why your object is better than someone else’s.